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Kesler Medwin
Skills/ Abilities - Internal biokinetic energy source which grants him enhanced speed, agility, reflexes, flexibility, dexterity and balance. - Able to channel and control the energy as external bright blue projectiles and kinesis via specialised gauntlets, including energy discs, small concussive blasts and limited kinesis, being able to envelop small objects up to approx the size of a chair and move them at will. - Often utilises flying energy discs as makeshift transportation. Personality Kesler is energetic, optimistic, confident, outgoing, fun loving, loud, excitable and independant. He can be quite impulsive and headstrong and is somewhat anti authority, which stems from his relationship with his parents and former teachers. Well known for being a chatterbox, Kesler is also not the sharpest tool in the box and is often easily confused or mislead. Whilst he isn't a complete idiot, he is usually largely unaware of the bigger picture, easily distracted with a short attention span. Background At first glance, Kesler Medwins’ birth was unremarkable. With his platinum blond hair and striking blue eyes he seemed like the perfect little boy until his parents noticed the peculiar circular markings across his palms. The nurse assured them that that they were nothing to worry about and would likely fade within the first few months. The birth marks didn’t fade, but Kesler was otherwise a completely normal and healthy baby. In fact he was more than healthy - he seemed to have an abundance of energy, regardless of how much he did or didn’t sleep. Constantly wanting to be active, he took his first steps at only nine months old and was practically running around by his first birthday. Keslers early years proved to be a trying time for his loving parents. Whilst his energetic nature meant he was a happy child, he was also constantly running around, climbing on things and generally causing chaos. During this time, Kesler formed a bond with his grandfather, Ambrose, a man who was also very active for his age. By Kindergarten, it was a huge task to get Kesler to concentrate long enough to sit still for more than five minutes. Whilst his teachers recommended seeking professional advice, Ambrose encouraged constructive physical activities and suggested junior gymnastics to which Keslers’ parents reluctantly agreed. Whilst having an outlet for all the extra energy seemed to improve his overall behaviour, Kesler still remained somewhat unfocused through early primary school and always wanted to be up and active. His teachers felt that his extra curricular activities were hindering his education which began causing tension between his parents and grandfather. One Saturday morning when Kesler was eight years old, he was preparing for a local junior gymnastic competition when he heard raised voices coming from the kitchen. As Kesler crept closer, he could hear shouting from his grandfather protesting “being neutered like an animal” whilst his mother was shouting something about “reliving the glory days”. Kesler approached the door of the kitchen in time to hear his father declare that he was going to do what a father should do and protect his family at any cost before glaring at Ambrose and finishing “unlike you”. At this point the three adults noticed Kesler, who promptly burst into tears. His father then told Ambrose he’d better leave and think twice about returning. Keslers’ life changed dramatically after this encounter. His parents removed him from his gymnastics club and moved to a different area of the country, stopping all contact with his grandfather. Without Ambrose to keep him in check and physical activities to keep him focused, Kesler became increasingly hyperactive and badly behaved which led to his parents arranging a consultation with a behavioural specialist. Diagnosed with ADHD, his parents were advised to consider medication to help with his concentration. There was little change at first and so his parents decided to up the dose. By middle school, Kesler was taking three tablets a day to keep his “condition” in check. His studies and behaviour had improved significantly but he’d also become notably less joyous and his once sparkly eyes were now dull and sad. When he started high school, his parents insisted that he didn’t study sports and so instead he took up drama class in which he learned a lot about disguising his emotions. Although on the outside he seemed like a well adjusted teenager he was verging on depressed, devoid of energy and motivation. One morning, when he got up for school, he stared blankly at his reflection in the bathroom mirror as he prepared to take his morning tablet. Not paying attention to what he was doing, he accidentally knocked the bottle into the wash basin and all the tablets fell down the plug hole. Too scared to tell his parents what happened, Kesler went to school as normal, hoping that things would be ok. He’d been taking the tablets for a few years now – maybe his condition had been suppressed. Sure enough, the next couple of days were fine, and Kesler began to relax, glad to finally be free of the constant medication. Still, he thought best not to mention it to his parents yet, just in case. Summer break was just a few weeks away anyway. The following night, after falling into a deep sleep, Kesler had several vivid dreams of running, jumping, diving and leaping through the air. He could feel the wind against his skin. He could feel his body buzzing with energy. At the end, he leapt off of a tall building, and hurtled towards the pavement. Kesler woke with a start, covered in sweat. He lay in bed, unable to go back to sleep until eventually he had to get up for school. Looking in the mirror, he gasped. His eyes were shining bright blue. Terrified that his parents would notice and realise he wasn't taking his medication, he hurriedly grabbed a pair of sunglasses before heading downstairs. His mother cocked a puzzled eyebrow at him, to which he made an excuse about it being too bright outside, and hurried off without stopping for breakfast. All day long he found himself fidgeting and struggling to keep himself in check. All he wanted to do was run, dance and jump about...things that any normal kid should be free to do. That night, after feigning illness the minute he got home and excusing himself to his room, Kesler found himself entirely unable to sleep. He sat on his bed and contemplated coming clean to his parents but the more he thought about it, the more wrong the situation seemed. He hadn’t questioned it when he was younger, assuming his parents knew what was best for him but now he was starting to feel extremely resentful towards them for robbing him of his livelihood. As his emotions grew, the circular markings on his hand suddenly burst into a bright blue glow. Kesler cried out in alarm, which instantly brought his parents running up the stairs. As his mother knocked on the door asking what was wrong in a panic-stricken voice, Kesler knew he couldn’t let them see this - he had to know what was going on before they tried to contain it. Instinctively he threw open his bedroom window and jumped the 12 foot drop out of it as if it were nothing. Upon landing, Kesler sprinted off without looking back, headed towards the local park. He came to rest by a gathering of trees, barely out of breath despite having ran the twenty minute journey to the park at top speed without having stopped once. He held out his palms to find that the blue glow had died down. The feeling of restlessness had passed too, but he was far from tired, in fact he felt more alive than ever. Just as he was making the decision to return home, a shrill scream rang out through the night somewhere nearby. Alarmed, Kesler looked all around trying to see where it had come from. Emerging from the trees, he could make out what appeared to be a young woman laying several meters away on a plain of grass with a teenaged boy standing over her. Kesler began to run towards them when the young guy suddenly turned around. He looked about Keslers’ age, a little taller and somewhat wiry, but notably muscular. His dark brown hair was short and scruffy and he had cold, grey eyes. In the next instant, the boy darted towards Kesler and violently knocked him to the ground with shocking speed and strength. Recovering impressively quickly, Kesler was about to respond with an attack of his own, glad of the excuse to let out some of his frustration when he suddenly found himself starting to feel strangely weak. Looking up in confusion, the wiry teen was standing above him, hands outstretched with his palms facing outwards, a strange grey glow emanating from them. Somehow, it seemed that the assailant was draining Keslers’ energy from him, as he had assumedly done to the woman lying on the grass. Fortunately for Kesler, energy was something that he had plenty of to spare, although the process of being drained was still less than pleasant. Grimacing, he pressed his right fist hard into the ground, leaned all of his weight on it and then launched a flying kick at his enemy, hitting him square in the chest, interrupting his attempts to drain Kesler dry and sending him crashing hard to the ground. The wiry teen’s face twisted into a sneer as he got back on his feet. He looked like he was about to unleash hell on Kesler when the sound of a siren wailing alerted them to the arrival of several police cars. The attacker wasted no time in retreating, disappearing into the night with the speed of a gazelle. Kesler even thought he saw him leap into the trees. Before Kesler could think about making his own exit, several police officers were running towards him and shouting at him to put his hands in the air. It would be no use trying to explain what happened; there was no way he could prove that he didn’t attack the woman lying on the ground. The mysterious energy drainer watched from the top of a tree with a sinister grin as Kesler fled the scene with agility to rival his own. On arriving home, Kesler found his furious parents outside the house with a policewoman. His mother instantly started screaming at him, whilst his father shouted at him for wasting police time when they were already “spread thin tonight”. However Kesler was unrepentant and instead started shouting back at them, accusing them of knowing the truth about his “condition” all along. When they tried to justify their actions by saying they wanted to keep him from harming himself or anybody else, because “that’s what people with inhuman abilities do”, it all started to fall into place. He suddenly remembered that argument between his parents and his grandfather during his youth and how his grandfather always had abundant energy when they played together... Tears welled up in Kesler’s eyes as he thought about all the years of fun he’d lost. He shook with Fury and ran past his parents, into the house and up to his room, slamming the door behind him. The next morning Kesler had only one question for his parents: the location of his grandfather. His parents may have cut Ambrose out of their lives, but surely they at least still knew where to find him. There was little use in denying Kesler his wish – the bright blue energy was pulsating out of his hands and eyes. The cat was out of the bag and there was no going back now. Kesler’s father made the reluctant phone call to Ambrose, confirming his location and telling him to expect a visit. By the time the awkward conversation was over, Kesler had already packed some things into a bag and was ready to leave. The way he felt right now, there was no telling when, or even if, he’d return home again. Some hours later, Kesler approached an unfamiliar door and knocked on it several times, nervous but incredibly excited. As soon as the door opened and he saw his grandfather’s face, it felt as if a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. The reunion proved to be both emotional and informative, as Ambrose explained the origin of their powers to Kesler. As a young man, he’d been part of a voluntary experiment of a government agency to create a self-sustaining energy source within the human body, in order to unlock its full potential. Dozens of volunteers were injected with a formula and then subjected to a series of specialised micro-rays. The results varied from person to person, some gaining increased strength, others amazing agility and some who simply became intensely energised, being able to go for days without sleep or food. However, the energy source proved be unstable and faded in some subjects, leaving them weak and frail, whilst others bodies were completely burnt out by it. In the end, only Ambrose and one other man, his best friend Kenneth Dunton who he’d also convinced to take part in the procedure, seemed to have successfully taken to the procedure. They were put on emergency watch over the following weeks until they were deemed healthy, and safe to continue on as specialised agents for the company behind the procedure. Both men possessed similar abilities, Ambrose being slightly more agile and athletic than Ken, who was stronger and more durable. They were issued with specialised equipment which was able to utilise their internal energy source as a battery, providing them with a variety of projectile and kinetic energy attacks. Ambrose took up the mantle of The Blue Battery whilst Kenneth became known as The Gray Gasket, respective of the colour of their energy auras. The two became well known and respected amongst the super hero circuit and enjoyed both the fame and wealth being part of the experiment had granted them. Both men also went on to get married and Ambrose fathered a healthy baby boy with his wife Mary. Tests showed that he was completely healthy, and had apparently not been affected by the serum in Ambrose’s blood, in either a positive or negative way. During one particularly gruelling mission against R.I.A (Rogue Intelligence Android) a few months later, things took a turn for the worse when Kenneth suddenly found himself feeling devoid of energy and short of breath. Apparently his energy source was not so reliable after all. Ambrose was able to evacuate Kenneth and get him back to the medical bay where doctors attempted to stabilise his condition. His skin had turned a grayish hue and his body was beginning to burn out. As a nurse tried to take his temperature, Kenneth was suddenly gripped by a crazed frenzy, reaching out to the nurse and grabbing her, screaming at her to help him so he could see his wife again. And then a strange thing happened – the nurse suddenly felt as if she’d had the wind knocked out of her and she began to feel steadily weaker and weaker until, just as she felt like she was about to lose consciousness, Ambrose managed to intervene and break Kenneth’s grip. Amazingly, Kenneth was now sitting up in bed, his energy seemingly completely restored. After several testing sessions, it was discovered that Kenneth had the ability to drain energy from other people, restoring his own energy as he did so. It was this ability that would keep him alive in the coming months, even allowing him to resume hero work by draining the energy of his enemies in order to replenish what he was losing. However, he was unable to utilise the Gray Gasket gauntlets anymore and he began to grow ever more resentful of his partner, who continued to operate without a problem. Eventually Kenneth took on the more fitting name of “Fatigue”. Matters were complicated further a couple of years later when Kenneth’s wife Linda discovered she was pregnant. She was placed under emergency care and the pregnancy was carefully monitored. At thirty weeks, Linda went into early labour. Thirteen hours later, she died giving birth to a baby girl who was rushed into emergency care and put on life support. It was touch and go but miraculously, the little girl pulled through. Kenneth however, was a broken man. In the early hours of the following morning, he launched a crazed attack on Ambrose in his own home, declaring everything that had happened was his fault since he’d convinced him to take part in the experiment in the first place. In the ensuing struggle, Kenneth launched Ambrose through the second story wall of his home, sending him flying to the concrete below, dislocating his hip. By the time Ambrose had clawed his way back upstairs, Kenneth was standing over Mary’s body, drained of all life. Overtaken by rage, Ambrose fought against the pain of his dislocated hip and launched himself at Kenneth, striking him again and again with such force that it broke just about every bone in the mans body. After several minutes, Ambrose slumped to the floor, beside his dead wife and former best friend. Everything had gone so horribly wrong. After the incident, Ambrose’s son Robert was taken into care. He didn’t see him again until decades later – shortly before Kesler had been born. Kesler comforted Ambrose as he started to realise why his parents had done what they had. But it still didn’t make it right. However, something more pressing was now on his mind. Recalling the encounter with the boy in the park, Kesler quizzed Ambrose about what became of Fatigue’s child, and whether the bloodline had continued. He explained that he’d been involved in a fight with a boy who seemed to have the very same powers. Ambrose was notably disturbed by this encounter, but he had no idea what had happened to the baby girl, or if she’d gone on to have children of her own. Kesler stayed with his grandfather for the whole summer, during which he became reacquainted with his gymnastics club and was able to be himself for the first time in years, spending much of his time at the beach, playing frisbee and surfing. Despite the misery in his young life so far, Kesler wasn’t one to dwell on the past, and instead revelled in his newfound freedom, becoming extremely happy and outgoing. At the end of the summer, Ambrose revealed to Kesler that he had secured a place for him at the Academy for Superpowered Youth if he wanted it, but he advised him to go home and say goodbye to his parents first. As a final gift to him, Ambrose revealed his old Blue Battery suit and gauntlets that he’d kept all this time. They were too big for Kesler but perhaps someone at the Academy could do something about that… Kesler bid a fond farewell to Ambrose before returning home to his parents. He told them his plans to attend the Academy…and that he forgave them for what they’d done. They didn’t agree with the life that he wanted to pursue, and it was sure to cause a lifelong rift between them, but that wasn’t going to stop Kesler from honouring his grandfather’s legacy…and avenging his grandmother’s death. Category:Characters Category:Beta